Climate Memo Mondays #18

Every year the Banking on Climate Chaos report provides a comprehensive analysis on the role that banks play in funding the climate crisis.

This year, the report's headline is earth-shattering: 60 private banks have poured over $3.8 TRILLION into fossil fuels since 2015.

Explore the whole Banking on Climate Chaos report to get a full picture of how the runaway funding for fossil fuel extraction and infrastructure fuels climate chaos and threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions.

This 12th annual version of the report expands its scope to investigate the fossil fuel financing and policies of the world’s 60 largest banks. The report makes it clear that none of the world's largest banks are truly in line with a liveable climate — regardless of their recent policies.

As the climate crisis deepens, the world’s biggest banks are making it worse by pouring more and more money into fossil fuels, and the United States' largest banks are doing the most damage of all.

Here are a few of the topline findings from the report:

·  Since the Paris Agreement, JPMorgan Chase has loaned $317 billion to fossil fuel companies ― 33% more than any other bank.

·  Even during the pandemic year of 2020, banks loaned more money to fossil fuels than they did in 2016, the first year after the Paris Agreement.

·  The four largest funders of fossil fuels are all US banks ― Chase, Bank of America, Citi and Wells Fargo alone have shoveled nearly $1 trillion into the fossil fuel industry since Paris

You can watch a video summary of the 2021 Banking on Climate Chaos report here.

The report features a case study about the Line 3 pipeline we're fighting so hard to stop. We've talked at length about the role of Chase in funding the pipeline — they are, after all, the world's largest funder of fossil fuels — but the report dives deeper, showing there are at least 29 banks providing over $12.9 billion in loans to Enbridge.

The Banking on Climate Chaos Report is the backbone of a lot of our work — take a few minutes and read the report or watch a video summary. After that, if you're looking for more ways to take action please donate to our Stop Line 3 Frontlines Fundraiser — we just passed our $25,000 goal and so we’ve increased it to $30,000. Can you help us get there?

In solidarity,
Stop the Money Pipeline